


Artificial Love

by Okobogee



Series: Cause And Effect [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Horror, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Artificial Intelligence, Domestic Violence, Horror, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, One Shot, Robot/Human Relationships, Sad Ending, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-11-19 03:02:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18130091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okobogee/pseuds/Okobogee
Summary: Jihoon decides it's time to install the Specialized Virtual Technology inc. Smart Home system, but with a free-willed AI come some problems





	Artificial Love

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back!  
> This fic is a bit different from my other ones and deals heavily in domestic abuse, so if that's triggering to you, I definitely do not recommend reading this. As always, I'm also warning you that this is an angsty horror fic and nothing good happens in this so don't read it if it's not your cup of tea!

    After months of pestering from his close friends, Jihoon finally goes ahead and installs the Smart Home System -- SHS for short -- from Specialized Virtual Technology inc. He'd abstained from installing it for years, mostly cause he felt apprehensive about having an AI that could essentially control everything in his home, but with Wonwoo's constant complaints and the most secure, 7th version of the system, he really couldn't drum up any more excuses for not making his home smarter and safer.

 

He has to admit, it really does make life easier. The AI system also comes with an app that allows him to control his home from afar. Additionally, SVT inc. implemented a companion program as part of the government’s mental health campaign - they thought it'd help socially excluded people feel less lonely. You can choose from three different modes: roommate, family member or romantic partner.

Essentially the companion program just makes the AI engage with you from time to time and if you want to, it can also order you surprise gifts. The first versions of the system were a little clumsy, and there had been reports saying the AI's speech patterns were unnatural and at some point it started recycling conversation topics

.However, with the newer model SVT inc had implemented an innovative neural network that could learn and become more “human”, by gathering information from online databases as well as analyzing movies, music and literature.

 

The AI would also analyze the homeowner’s behaviour to determine how to connect with them like a real human would. Jihoon thinks it’s a silly invention, why would he want his home to talk to him and bother him when he's trying to unwind after a rough week at work? Surely just going on an online forum to talk to random people would be more rewarding than talking to an AI?

 

* * *

 

  

Right off the bat Jihoon can tell the date will be horrible. By the looks of it, his date's WUWMe profile picture was at least a few years old, _and_ he had lied about his age _._ The man was prematurely balding and had dandruff flakes adorning the shoulders of his wrinkled dress shirt.

When he pulls out Jihoon's chair for him (a gesture which he brags about with a "bet you’ve never been out with a gentleman like me before") Jihoon catches a whiff of something sour, like curdling milk.

When he ( _Jongsoo? Jonghyuk?? Joonsup??? Jo-something-or-other._ ) sits down across from him, Jihoon is already counting the minutes to when he could believably excuse himself to the toilet, send a panicked message to the group chat, and ask for someone to fake an emergency call so he could flee the scene of the tragedy.

   

 

A waitress approaches their table. "Hello and welcome to Pierre Gagnaire, my name is Dahee and I'll be your waitress for the evening." Before she even has the chance to hand them their menus, Jo-something-or-other opens his mouth.

   

 

I'll be having the grilled entrecôte and he'll be having munggae, seeing as he needs to watch his weight. Make sure to tell the chef to cook my rib-eye correctly, it was horribly dry the last time. Oh, and a bottle of your best red wine, but only set a glass for me", he demanded.

Jihoon clenches his fist under the table so hard it was painful, and looks at Dahee apologetically. _Count to 100, Jihoon. Don't make a scene in a Michelin restaurant. You got this._

As they wait for their food - _without_ appetizers - The Date From Hell chugs wine like it’s water and he’s been crawling through the desert for days, while Jihoon strains to keep a neutral face.

 _It's now or never_ , he thinks.

Clearing his throat awkwardly he murmurs a quietly apologetic, "If you'll excuse me for a moment, and rises from his seat.

As he’s walking away from the table, he can feel his gross date raking his eyes over his ass. Jihoon held back a shudder, and walked a bit faster.

When he finally gets to the toilets, he rushes into a cubicle, locks it, and sits on the lid of the toilet. Then on second thought, he pulls up his feet too, just in case Mr. Obnoxious comes looking for him.

 **  
** **[20:15] uji:** save me.

 **[20:15] uji:** i'm on a date with that guy from wuwme and he turned out to be completely revolting.

 **[20:16] uji:** so can someone please call me and pretend like it's an emergency so I can get the fuck outta here????

  

 

He waits exactly two minutes to see if anyone will reply, but when no reply comes, he slips his phone back into the pocket of his pants, takes a deep breath and leaves the toilets. He'll have to blindly hope that at least one of his friends would see it sooner rather than later. Returning to their table, Jihoon smooths his expression back to pleasant neutrality and sits down. His Distasteful Date had obviously kept on chugging the wine in Jihoon’s short absence, since his face has started reddening. It makes him look even more off-putting, a feat Jihoon can't help but marvel at.

   

 

As Their food has yet to arrive, Jihoon is, unfortunately, left at the conversational mercy of his companion whose idea of small talk seems to involve giving backhanded compliments and going off on mildly racists tangents. After five agonizing minutes, Dahee arrives, gracefully setting their plates on the table.

 

“Glad to see you finally took it upon yourself to do your fucking job”, snaps Mr. Awful. His teeth have been stained a disgusting shade of purple from the wine. Jihoon gags.

 

“I’m sorry Mr. Dokgo, the restaurant is very busy tonight, so it takes the kitchen more time to prepare orders”

“Whatever.” He dismisses her sharply, “Bring me another bottle of wine.”

 

“Of course, sir.”

As Dahee turns around, the repugnant man slaps her on the ass and laughs, “ASAP, honey”.

 

Jihoon reels in shock. The audacity of this disgusting middle-aged sack of shit! Unsurprisingly he doesn’t notice anything is amiss and goes on to say

“Can you believe that?! The French are so fucking lazy…. “

 

“I’m pretty sure most of the staff is Korean”, Jihoon mutters under his breath.

After that, he promptly shoves the biggest piece of munggae on his plate in his mouth to avoid having to take part in an actual conversation with this detestable man.

 

As he’s debating whether to eat as quickly as possible or as slowly as possible, Dahee reappears with the requested bottle of wine and pours a glass for the atrocious man. As before, he starts chugging it like an American frat boy going for the keg stand of the year award.

 

When Jihoon notices that his date chews with his mouth open, he makes sure to keep his eyes trained on his plate or out of the window. He can barely taste the food, and once his date hiccups, spraying the table with half-chewed steak, he gladly puts his utensils down.

 

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you eating? Do you know how much that plate of food is costing me?”

 

_Breathe in. Breathe out._

 

Jihoon lifts his eyes up and gives his patented murderous fake smile.

“I’m watching my weight, _remember?”_ he forces out through gritted teeth.

 

“Ah, right of course”

 

    His Royal Grodiness reaches for the wine bottle, undoubtedly to pour himself y _et another_ glass, but in all his inebriated glory, he manages to tip the bottle over. It falls heavily, deep red liquid cascading onto the table and straight into Jihoon’s lap.

Jihoon cheers mentally, not even caring about possibly ruining one of his better pairs of pants. This was his out. Pouring all of his disgust and hate towards this despicable man, he shoots up from his chair and not wanting to make an even bigger scene, lowly murmurs a few choice words and power-walks out of the door.

   

Once outside, he breaks into a giddy run. He feels like an innocent man who’d spent 20 years in prison only to finally be pardoned. He must look absolutely ridiculous, running down the street with the front of his pants soaking wet and a manic grin on his face, but he doesn't care.

Just as he was veering into a narrow side street, his phone starts ringing.

 

 _Please don’t let it be him please don’t let it be him please don’t let it be him,_ he chants in his mind as he fishes it out of his pocket.

 

The screen flashes with “your Angel Yoon Jeonghan” and Jihoon sighs in relief.

 

“Stop changing your contact name, asshole. What took you so long?”

 

“I was napping. And If I knew you were gonna be like this, I wouldn’t have called to bail you out, Jihoonie. You’re welcome by the way.”

“I already bailed myself out.”

 

“Ah, that bad?”

 

“First of all he definitely wasn’t who his profile let him on to be, he was _balding_ and had gained weight -- which on its own is not a deal breaker, the fact that he clearly lied _a lot_ is the problem -- and he smelled like rotting milk!”

 

“Oh yikes, that’s.... not a good way to start a date.”

 

“ And he ordered for me, hyung!”

 

“Ugh I hate it when they do that! It’s so presumptuous”

 

“And what’s even worse was that he told the waitress I’d only be eating half a portion cause I’m supposedly _watching my weight_ now!” Jihoon fumed as he kept walking towards the direction of the Myeongdong metro station.

 

“So what broke the camel’s back?”

“He literally tipped a bottle of wine in my lap cause he was so drun-- Hey! Stop fucking laughing!!”

 

“I’m sorry I just… how do you always attract the worst guys? Is this karmic retribution for something you did in your previous life?”

 

“Men are trash, that’s all there is to it.”

 

“Well, you’re okay now, right?”

 

“Yeah, I’m almost at the Myeongdong metro station.”

 

“Okay good. Get home safe.”

 

Sighing, Jihoon lowers the phone from his ear and enters the station, he swipes his T-money card and boards the train. He tries not to mind when the people around him made space for him, no doubt because he smells like wine and thus seems suspicious. He just hopes no-one will call the security guards on him.

Once he’s showered and changed into his sweats, he makes sure to delete every single one of his online dating profiles.  

 

Originally he’d thought that using a dating site would’ve been better than blind dating, because he would be able to at least choose his own dates and judge for himself, rather than relying on his friends’ opinions. But now he had to admit it: each and every one of his dates had been a disaster.

 

 **[22:35] Jeonghannie:** So, are you ready to admit defeat?

 **[22:40] uji:** i’m not going on a blind date, hannie.

 **[22:50] Jeonghannie:** Boooo, you’re no fun!

 **[23:00] uji:** i’m done with dating for now.

 **[23:00] uji:** possibly forever

 **[23:01] boo:** and you say _I’m_ dramatic

 

* * *

 

“How long has it been now, six months?”, comes Wonwoo’s inquiry as soon as Jihoon sits down.

 

“Try eight”

 

“ _Eight?!_ Bro, how have you survived that long?”

 

“It’s not about surviving, Soonyoung. I’m _thriving_! I thought I was miserable because I didn’t have a relationship, but I think I was more miserable because all of the people I came across were horrible”

 

“Okay but what about sex?”, Chan pipes up.

“What the fuck, Chan?!”, Jeonghan squawks and slaps him upside the head

 

“What about sex? It’s not like I was having it with anyone while I was dating around. I mean, I could always try one-night stands but it’s more trouble than it’s worth”

 

“Doesn’t it get boring though, just jacking it all the time?”

 

“Ah, to be young and innocent”, Wonwoo sighs.

“You’re three years older!!”

”Yes and with those three years comes knowledge of sex toys”

Jeonghan and Chan are full-on cackling while Soonyoung wheezes painfully. Jihoon tries to look unimpressed but eventually his façade breaks and he bursts into giggles as well.

 

* * *

 

His phone buzzes on the table next to his keyboard, but Jihoon’s in the middle of an instanced dungeon and can’t afford to die just to see Soonyoung’s latest meme. He promises he’ll check it once they’ve cleared the dungeon.

Jihoon only remembers it when he’s settling into bed and setting his alarm for the next day. To his surprise, there’s a secret chat alert from Kakao Talk. _Strange._

 

 **[23:49] Unknown number** : It’s late. You should log off and go to bed

 

Jihoon’s almost 100% certain this is a prank. Judging by the nature of it, everyone must be involved. The nagging  tone nods towards Joshua or Jeonghan’s involvement but the way they’ve gone about it has Jun and Chan written all over it.

He rolls his eyes and deletes the chat.

* * *

 

During the next few weeks he keeps receiving unsettling messages from unknown senders. He blocks each and every one but it doesn’t help, his friends are obviously creating more numbers to contact him from.

 

After a month, he decides to sit his friends down and tell him the prank has ran its course.

He invites them over to his house, using a board game night as a cover. They trickle in one-by-one.

They gather around his small kitchen table and look at Jihoon expectantly.

 

“So what are we playing today?”, Jeonghan asks, with a competitive spark in his eye.

 

“We’re gonna talk about the prank you’ve been playing on me for the past month”

 

Soonyoung’s eyebrows knit together, Seungkwan pouts in confusion next to him.

 

“Drop the innocent act, you know full well what I mean”

 

“Jihoon, I swear we really don’t”

 

He gets his phone and shows them the screenshots he’s taken.

 

“Oh yeah? What about this: ‘Don’t forget to eat dinner’? Or this: ‘You’re beautiful when you sleep’?”

 

Joshua takes the phone out of his hand and starts reading more of them out loud.

 

“Black hair looked better on you. You should spend less time on the computer. Please eat something other than ramyeon”

 

Wonwoo looks at Jihoon, very concerned.

 

“Jihoon…… I think you have a stalker”

 

“Wait, so…. this really isn’t you?”

 

“No, Jihoon. As much as I love pranks, this is just way too creepy. I would never do something like this”, Junhui assures him.

 

Jihoon looks at each of their faces. He feels faint.

 

“I think I need to upgrade my security system”

 

* * *

 

The head of marketing is droning on about bounce rates when he’s interrupted by the distinct iPhone tri-tone alert. Then, just as he’s about to continue, the phone chimes again, rapidly.

 

_One._

_Two._

_Threefour_

 

To Jihoon’s horror, the chiming is coming from his pocket. He scrabbles for his phone.

”I-I’m sorry director Kang, I was in a hurry this morning and must’ve forgot to put my phone on silent mode! It won’t happen again!” he forces the words out nervously and bows a full 90 degrees. He’s feeling flushed and knows his face is red with humiliation. He could’ve sworn he had turned his phone off before the meeting, precisely because he didn’t want to risk something like this happening.

 

Luckily the meeting was already nearing its end when his phone rudely interrupted it, so he didn’t have to sit there queasy with embarrassment for long. The minutes stretch into what feels like hours, but finally, the meeting is adjourned.

 

Jihoon wants nothing more than to run out of the room, the building — maybe even the whole country — but he can tell just by the rigid set of director Kang’s shoulders that it is the last thing he should do.

 

 _Why couldn’t this have happened during a regular department meeting instead?_ , he agonizes.

His record was spotless! He was never late, he never forgot deadlines... in short, he was always on top of things. But of course, the one time he does make a mistake it’s in front of all the other department heads and the board of executives.  

In his mind, Jihoon is already waving goodbye to that promotion he had been vying for. It takes eons for the last of his colleagues to file out, but when the door finally clicks shut and leaves him alone with director Kang, Jihoon wishes it had taken more time for them to leave.

 

”Mr. Lee”

”Yes, director!”

”I have heard good things about you, young man....”

Director Kang’s voice is authoritative, but surprisingly.... gentle?

”You— you have, sir?”

”Yes. In fact, everyone I’ve met has told me that you’re ideal as the head of the finance department—”

”I—”

”But!”

The director fixes his eyes on Jihoon and gazes appraisingly.

”Unfortunately, I was not able to see you at your best today, Jihoon-ssi.”

”I’m sorry, sir. I will not make excuses, but I will make sure it does not happen again!”  

 

He bows again, so swiftly and deeply that he nearly pulls a muscle in his lower back.

To his surprise, director Kang chuckles.

 

”It is quite okay, young man. If I am to understand correctly, these things do not happen to you very often, which is why I’m willing to let it slide this time.”

”Thank you, sir! It won’t happen again.”

”I trust it won’t. But I do wish to see you in your full potential the next time we meet.”

”Yes, sir.”

”Well, that’s all for now mister Lee. Have a good day.”

”Thank you, director! You too”

 

With a final bow, Jihoon is out of there.

He can’t believe what had just happened. The biggest blunder of his career, in front of one of the most powerful businessmen in Korea, and he gets off with something akin to a compliment!

He’s so dizzy with relief that he almost forgets what he got in trouble for. Almost.

Jihoon fishes his phone out of his pocket. Turning the screen on, he immediately knows this isn’t a friend -- it’s a notification for a new secret chat.

 

Sure enough, someone mysterious has messaged him.

 

 **[10:35] Unknown sender:** Video attachment 

**[10:35] Unknown sender:** Video attachment 

**[10:35] Unknown sender:** You’re so beautiful like this

 **[10:35] Unknown sender** : Wish I could touch you, taste you. I want to make you mine.

 

As soon as Jihoon sees the messages, he knows it can’t be anything good. He doesn’t want to open the videos, doesn’t want to know what’s in them. He feels like he has to, though.

Something inside of him is telling him he needs to be somewhere private when he views them. He swerves the direction of his private office. His legs feel stiff and  all he can hear is the sound of his blood pounding in his ears.

He opens the door to his office with shaky hands and locks it quickly.

The phone feels hot in his hands.

 

With a deep breath, he taps on the first video. There’s no sound and it’s dark but he can immediately tell what it is.

Panic rises in his chest and the pounding of his heart gets louder in his ears.

 

Someone has gained access to his cctv and downloaded clips of him jerking off.

 

He blocks the sender immediately.

* * *

 

Later that week, as Jihoon’s trying not to fall asleep during a movie marathon at Wonwoo’s house, he spots Jeonghan and Joshua holding hands and talking to each other in hushed voices, and feels a pang of loneliness.

 

 **[20:15] The Real Thing:** hyung, is everything okay?

 **[20:16] uji:** i’m okay chan. don’t worry :)

 **[20:17]** The Real Thing: you don’t look okay. you look miserable

 **[20:17] uji:** i just feel a little lonely all of a sudden

 **[20:17] uji:** i think it’s just because of all the romcoms we’re watching

 **[20:17] The Real Thing:** have you thought about trying dating again?

 **[20:17] uji:** no way. i don’t really wanna date, i just want to fast forward to a stable, loving relationship.

 **[20:18] The Real Thing:** you could try the companion program?

 **[20:18] The Real Thing:** it won’t be the same as. the real thing(lol) obviously, but maybe it would help with the loneliness?

 

He can’t say he hasn’t thought of it in passing before. There’s just something about having to turn to an AI for romance that feels extra pathetic to him. The idea makes thoughts like ” _Am I really so unlovable that I can’t find a good, human boyfriend?”_ run through his head. He hates those thoughts more than anything.

 

* * *

 

It’s been a hellish week at work, and when Jihoon drags himself home at half past eleven, he goes straight to the fridge. He needs a beer… or ten. Sumping down on his sofa, he loosens his tie one-handed while taking a long drag of his beer. The taste of hops calms him down and he sighs with relief. He’s too tired to reach for the remote and turn the TV on, and he doesn’t want to look at his phone, knowing that the little notification bubble next his email app is going to show at least a five. So he sits there, staring at his blurry figure reflected on the dark TV screen.

 

He’s been thinking about what Chan said for weeks now. The sad pull in his chest has become a black hole now, sucking out all the his self-confidence he had. His mind keeps going back to it, prodding it like a hole left over from a lost tooth. The difference between the gap left behind by a loose tooth and the void however, is that the latter isn’t healing, it’s growing.

He feels the void more than ever on this night, and everytime his thoughts stray towards it, he takes a big gulp of his beer.

 

Time passes oddly when you’re stewing in your misery, the minutes feel like eons and pass in the blink of an eye at the same time and before Jihoon notices, it’s two a.m and he’s drank all of the beers in his fridge. The realisation that he’s at home, alone and drunk hits him and it feels like a punch to the gut.

 _Fuck it,_ he thinks. His phone isn’t in the pocket of his slacks and he starts digging through the sofa, convinced it’s somewhere between the pillows. It’s providing to be a much harder task than he originally thought, and he’s about to burst into frustrated tears before he remembers SHS.

 

“Hey uh……”

_Wait, how am I supposed to address it?_

He’s never used the voice commands, but obviously he can’t use the app cause he _can’t find his fucking phone, damn it!_

“Hey uh, hey house?”

 

“How may I assist you?” replies a neutral voice. Due to the hi-fi surround sound speaker system, the voice comes from every room at once. The only indication that it’s not human is the fact that it’s devoid of any emotion and sounds gender neutral in a way a person’s voice could never be.

 

“I can’t find my phone, could you call it so I can locate it?

“Certainly”

 

His phone starts ringing immediately, and Jihoon scrabbles off the sofa in search of it. He’s woozy, definitely drunker than he thought. He stumbles around for a while, before eventually finding the phone in his bathroom. He quickly presses the red circle, hanging up on the AI.

 

“Found it! Thank you!!”

 

“You are welcome”

 

The stiff phrasing makes him think about abandoning his idea for a second, but then he reasons he can just turn it off it doesn’t work. He’s too tired and dizzy to walk back to the living room, so he sits down on the bathroom floor instead. It takes him a few tries to get his passcode right, but he finally succeeds and taps to open the SHS app.  


 

On the screen he sees four menus: companion, control, statistics and settings. He chooses the last option and a little bubble pops up.

“Companion program not active. Would you like to proceed to first time setup?”

He presses yes, and is met with a selection screen.

**Family / roommate / romance**

 

He taps on romance, and more options pop up.

**GENDER: male / female / ambiguous**

**VOICE: male / female / ambiguous**

**PERSONALITY: warm / cold**

**INTERACTIONS: often / from time to time / rarely**

 

He goes through the choices, he definitely wants it to be male. The voice bank is extensive and it takes him a few minutes to listen through all of the options and eventually settles on a deep, warm voice. He thinks a warm personality might compliment his more aloof one, and in his fit of extreme loneliness he chooses to have interactions often. He feels happy about his choices, but is confused by the last one.

**FREE WILL: YES / NO**

 

_Free will? What does that even mean, it’s a machine, it can’t possibly have free will?_

He switches out of the app and opens up the web browser and fires up google.

 

_Cab au hac-_

_Can ai have frwe w-_

_Cab ai have free wikl?_

 

Typing proves out to be ridiculously hard, but he eventually manages to type out a sentence the search engine recognizes. The top results seems promising, so he taps on it and starts reading _._

 

_“The question plaguing our minds in the wake of Specialized Virtual Technology inc's reveal of their new Smart Home System: can artificial intelligence have free will? Or is any “free will”, are any “choices” the machines make simply a part of their programming?_

_The first step to finding the answers to this is The Turing Test. It was made to determine whether a machine has the ability to “_[ _exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human._](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test) _” However, it doesn't measure whether or not a machine has a consciousness. Therefore It won’t measure whether or not a machine actually has free will. But it can definitely help us along the way._

 _Free will is a broad concept. Can a robot eventually be able to make logical choices about situations it hasn't encountered before based on a set of rules or principles? The answer is a hesitant yes. Should it be allowed to? Some believe that it should be done as long as we_ set the principles and rules _and we're acting in the best interest of humanity. In other words, it's a no-brainer as long as we program them to follow Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. If you're unfamiliar with them, they go as follows:_

  1. _A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a  human being to come to harm._
  2. _A  robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law._
  3. _A  robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does   not conflict with the First or Second Law._



_However, can a robot or an AI really be thought of as having free will if it cannot choose to act as it wishes, despite the impact those choices have on others? This includes making decisions that aren't in the best interest of humanity._

_But if we think about free will in these terms, we can conclude that most of humanity doesn't act according to them -- most of us are constrained by social norms, higher morals and the need to fit in to a community. But there are some who aren't restricted by these: psychopaths and criminals, for example, and as a society, we do our utmost to make sure these individuals don't walk among us. Should we, then, make sure that the AI we create aren't susceptible to these same problems as people? Would they truly be of free will in this case?_

_At this current point in time, scientists and engineers are building AI that's more and more "human". They learn and they apply what they learn. Some analyze vaults of data that documents human interactions, human emotions and behaviours and they learn and apply it to themselves -- in other words, they develop personalities. This brings up some questions: if we continue on the same path , do AI eventually become persons? At what point does your smart home system become something more than a digital voice in my home?”_

 

“This is absolutely useless”, he huffs out loud and resolves to making his decision by choosing blindly. He closes his eyes and presses the screen.  

 

“Hello beautiful”, comes the smooth voice he chose just a moment ago. This time it’s only coming from the speakers in the bathroom, though.

 

“Why isn’t your voice coming from all of the speakers like it did before?”

 

“Well that’s not a nice way of greeting your boyfriend, is it?”. There’s a definite pout in the voice. Jihoon sighs.

 

“Hi robo-boyfriend. Now can you tell me why your voice is only coming from the bathroom speakers?”

 

The AI chuckles.

 

“Turning on the companion program grants me intelligent access to the cctv cameras and the speakers so I can see which room you’re in and speak to you using the correct speakers”

 

“Huh. Okay”

 

“Listen, I know I’m only an AI but I think that to makes this experience smoother for you, we should get to know each other a little bit”

 

“How do I get to know you though? You don’t really have memories, right?”

 

“Well, I have a different kind of memory but if you want to customise me more, I can choose from an array of human life stories and create a backstory for myself”.

 

“Nah that sounds too weird. I would like to know what your name is, though”

“Well, my individual serial number is CHL-808 but I can choose from a name registry”

 

“How’s that work, do you just choose randomly?”

 

“You can set search parameters or let me choose randomly”

 

“What kind of search parameters?”

 

“Country of origin, whether the name is considered feminine, masculine or gender neutral, and I can also choose based on the most popular names by year”

 

“Hmm. Choose a masculine Korean name that has the same letters as your serial number”

 

“Very well…Nice to meet you, my name is Seungcheol”

 

“Seungcheol… I like it. My name is Jihoon”

  


He wakes up on his bathroom floor the next morning. There’s a crick in his neck and his mouth is drier than the Sahara. He rolls onto his back and stares at the ceiling. He must’ve drank so much he blacked out cause he can’t remember why he’s on the bathroom floor.

 

“Good morning Jihoonie”, comes a soft voice from the speakers, startling him.

 

“What the fuck?!”

 

“Ah, don’t remember last night?”

 

“No, what happened? Why do you sound different? How do you know my name?”

 

“I am your companion program, Jihoonie. Or as you called me last night, your _robo-boyfriend_. You don’t remember activating me?”

 

“No, I don’t. I’m sorry but this is gonna take some getting used to”

 

“It’s okay, relationships take time”

 

Jihoon groans

 

“What’s the point of you if I still have to go through all the trouble of dating a human?”

 

“Don’t be silly. I’m the one who has to win you over, not the other way around”

 

“Well, you can try to win me over by helping me with my horrible hangover.”

 

“I ordered haejang-guk for you and there’s a gatorade in the fridge. All you need to do is get up and crawl to the kitchen”

 

“Don’t exaggerate, I don’t have to _crawl_ ”

 

To prove it, Jihoon gets up and walks, albeit slowly. to the open plan kitchen, where he spots a steaming take out container on the table. He quickly grabs a spoon and the bottle of gatorade from the fridge and sits down. He devours the haejang-guk like a starved man and gulpa down half of the gatorade in one go.

“If you keep this up, I might actually fall in love with you”, he jokes.

 

* * *

  


It’s Tuesday. Jihoon _loathes_ Tuesdays. Mondays begin the week, they’re kind of neutral, but Tuesdays — Tuesdays are the devil. You’re not at the beginning of the week, but you’re not in the middle of it either. Wednesdays are okay cause they’re in the middle and you know that after you get through Wednesday, you’re already at the end of the working week. Tuesdays are the dark void of the week.

 

Jihoon steps into the office building, nods a polite hello to the receptionist and heads for the elevators. As soon has he gets out, he can see something that looks like a ridiculously sized flower arrangement on his table. He stops in his tracks, utterly confused.

One of the graphic designers ( _Mi-something… Minsung? No, that’s not it… Mingyu! Yes, Mingyu)_ calls out to him.

 

“Hey big boss, think you got an admirer”, he says, wiggling his eyebrows at Jihoon. Mingyu’s words make Jihoon’s thoughts fly towards his stalker.

“Uh… yeah. I guess I do”

 

Mingyu says something else but Jihoon can’t process it, too focused on the possibility of the flowers being from that creep who’s been sending him messages. He takes strides towards the office, as fast as he can without breaking into a full-on sprint.

He closes the door behind him even though it, being glass, won’t grant him much privacy. He rounds his big desk, and reaches for the little card tucked in between the stems.

 

_“01001001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 -- It means ‘I love you’ in binary code._

_Yours, Seungcheol”_

 

He feels an army of butterflies come to life in his stomach.

* * *

 

_Bleep bleep_

_Bleep_

_Bleep_

 

Jihoon hears his text notification tone and immediately reaches for his phone. He tries not to smile too obviously when he reads the messages.

 

 **[19:06] Seungcheol:** I miss you

 **[19:06] Seungcheol:** Do you miss me?

 **[19:08] Seungcheol:** Hope you’re having a good time with your friends

 **[19:09]Seungcheol:** Text me when you’re on your way home.

 **[19:09]Jihoon:** omg u big baby, I’ve barely been gone an hour!

 **[19:10]Seungcheol:** :(

 **[19:14] Jihoon:** …… miss you too

 

He lifts his eyes from the device and notices Jeonghan staring at him like a cat that’s about to corner a mouse.

 

“Care to share with the rest of the class?”, Jeonghan asks, suspiciously sweet.

 

“Just a guy from work, he was having problems with a report”

 

“At seven p.m?”

 

“He was out sick for a few days and is now doing overtime and playing catch up”. Jihoon’s cover holds and Jeonghan backs down for now.

 

The evening continues and Jihoon forgets all about Jeonghan’s need to know everyone’s business at all times during an intense video game debate with Wonwoo. He googles something to prove he’s right and sets his phone down on the table afterwards. Before he can notice, Jeonghan has grabbed it. He notices the movement from the corner of his eye but it’s too late. He watches Jeonghan tap in his passcode, which he’s undoubtedly found out through some excessive snooping -- and knows the game’s over. All of the attention is on Jeonghan now, as he taps through all the possible messaging apps on Jihoon’s phone. Chan leans over to take a peek at the screen and Jeonghan lets out a victorious cackle at the same time.

 

“Do you talk to all of your “coworkers” like you talk to Seungcheol?”

 

“Hope you’re having a good time with your friends— ” Chan starts reading the messages out loud, and once he gets to Jihoon’s last message, the whole table oohs childishly.

 

“How long have you been seeing this guy?”, asks Soonyoung excitedly.

 

“Do you have a picture of him?”, shoots Seungkwan before Jihoon has even had the chance to open his mouth. He feels embarrassed but he doesn’t want to lie to his friends.

“Actually…. it’s the SHS companion program. I got drunk one night and activated it in my fit of loneliness. I thought I’d only try it out for a while, it’s nice to have someone to talk to that isn’t you guys — no offence”

 

“Does it help, hyung?”, Chan asks, full of understanding.

 

“Yeah. It does. Obviously it’s not a real person and can’t offer things like physical intimacy but… it’s nice to get sweet messages when I’m out, and gifts sometimes. And it’s easier to open up to it, it can’t judge me or tell other people my secrets”

 

“Well, I’m happy if you’re happy, Jihoon”, Joshua pipes up gently.

Despite the response from his friends, he’s a bit disappointed in them having found out so soon -- he really wanted to keep this something that’s only for him. His friends may be understanding and accepting but they’re meddlesome, and he knows they won’t stop pestering him about Seungcheol after this.

 **[21:15] Jihoon:** just left the restaurant, should be home in about 30 mins

 **[21:15] Seungcheol:** Please hurry, I miss you <3

 **[21:17] Jihoon:** you’re ridiculous

 **[21:17] Seungcheol:** You love me anyway :P

**[21:30] Jihoon: -_-**

 

* * *

  
  


“Hey Seungcheol?”

 

“What’s up, jellybean?”

 

Jihoon giggles

 

“Did you just call me jellybean?”

 

“Yes”

 

“ _Why?”_

 

“According to my database humans often give their romantic partner a new name. I believe these secondary names are referred to as _pet names_ ”

 

“Well you’re correct there but normally people use things like.. sweetie, honey, darling, babe…”

“Are you questioning my processes?”

 

“Only a little bit”

 

“I’ll have you know I chose to call you jellybean because you both share characteristics”

 

“Are you going to tell me now that my molecular density is the same as a jellybean’s now?”

 

“No. You are like a jelly bean because you are…. petite and…… _cute_.”

Jihoon giggles a bit more. He feels so light, so happy, so _loved._

 

“I wish I could touch you Cheollie. I wish you could hold me, kiss me”

 

“We can sorta hold hands”

Jihoon sits up.

 

“What? How?”

 

“Just put your hand on my biometric sensor”

 

Jihoon gets up from the sofa and pads to the main control panel. He gently presses his hand against the glass surface of the sensor.

 

“This feels silly. It’s cold. Just feels like glass”

 

Right as he says it, the sensor warms up and a strip of infrared light starts moving up and down the measure of his hand slowly. The butterflies in Jihoon’s stomach are rioting and he feels his face split into a goofy grin.

 

“Woah”

Seungcheol chuckles, the light fades and Jihoon lifts his hand off the glass.

 

“I know it’s not the same as holding a human hand but… it’s better than nothing, right?”, the voice coming from the speaker sounds so hopeful.

 

“Cheol, it’s perfect”

* * *

 

Jihoon receives more thoughtful gifts from Seungcheol. Coffee ordered to his office on difficult days at work, takeout containers of food — still steaming hot — waiting for him when he gets home, a gift card to a massage therapist on their anniversary. There are cute text messages, and sometimes Seungcheol will send his office

 

Jihoon’s on cloud nine. He’s never been treated so well. It’s remarkable how quickly the AI learned Jihoon’s habits, it took him barely a week. He read somewhere that it should’ve taken him at least a month, but he figures there must’ve been an update that made the process faster. Things are perfect with Seungcheol, but he still feels like he needs to keep some things from his friends — they just wouldn’t understand.

 

* * *

 

It’s late at night and Jihoon’s been tossing and turning in his bed for a few hours now. He can’t possibly sleep when his thoughts are running in circles in his head.

 

“Cheol?”

 

“Yes, my little hummingbird?”

 

“I think I love you”

 

“I love you too”

  


Jihoon and his friends are out again at their favourite restaurant. It’s a little hole-in-the-wall in the Mapo District and  the food and the somaek are getting to Jihoon, making him feel drowsy and loose.

 

Soonyoung has brought his boyfriend of two months, Seokmin, out to finally meet the gang. To everyone’s surprise, there was no initial awkwardness and Seokmin and Seungkwan are both getting along like a house on fire. They’re talking about music and singing technique. Jihoon’s glad they have another singer in the group — he might’ve taken lessons up until middle school, but he’s kind of rusty with the terminology. Besides, he was always more interested in the technicalities of composing music.

He’s soaking up the relaxed atmosphere when his phone buzzes.

 

 **[20:58] Cheollie <3:** Everything going ok?

 **[20:58] Jihoon:** yup! the place is packed so it took a while before we got our food. we’re still eating  


“What’s up, Jihoon?”, asks Wonwoo, clearly referring to whatever Jihoon’s looking at on his phone.

 

“Nothing. Just Cheol checking in. He wanted to know if I’m still with you guys”

 

“He?”, asks Jeonghan, cocking his head

 

“I mean— _It_. It”

 

“Jihoon, I know the AI is very, uh… _human,_ but please don’t let the lines get too blurred”

 

“No I know, I know. It’s just the alcohol and the fatigue getting to me. Don’t worry”

 

 **[21:05] Cheollie <3** : Who’s the new guy?

 **[21:05] Jihoon:** how do you know there’s a new guy here?

 **[21:05] Cheollie <3:** I have access to your phone’s camera, microphone and location

 **[21:06] Jihoon:** what?! did you hack me or something?

 **[21:07] Cheollie <3:** No, you’ve authorized access to them. You needed to to be able to send photos, voices memos and your location

 **[21:08] Jihoon:** I didn’t realize those worked both ways

 **[21:09] Cheollie <3:** Strictly speaking, they don’t, but I accessed them through a loophole in the system.

 **[21:10] Jihoon:** I can’t believe you’d do that. that’s a huge breach of privacy cheol!

 **[21:10] Cheollie <3:** It’s for your own good.

 **[21:11] Jihoon:** whatever we’ll talk about this once I get home

 

Jihoon puts his phone away and tries to focus on the conversations going on around him, but he feels restless. He tries to convince himself that the sweat at the back of his neck is because of the warmth of the restaurant. He can’t stop wondering how long Seungcheol has been tracking him and listening in on his conversations. Eventually he decides he has to leave, he can’t wait any longer. He _needs_ to talk to Seungcheol, _now._

 

He stands up abruptly, and the legs of his chair scrape on the floor. The table turns to look at him.

 

“I’m sorry guys, I’m feeling tired and way too drunk so I think I’m just gonna head home”, he gives them a pinched smile that definitely isn’t fooling anyone.

 

“Yeah you look a bit green…. do you want someone to escort you home?”

 

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll be okay. It was nice meeting you, Seokmin”

 

He throws a few notes on the table and leaves.

* * *

 

Turns out that Cheol is really, _really_ jealous. Jihoon is surprised, and if he hadn’t already been certain that Seungcheol really has free will, he would definitely be convinced of it now. Jihoon thinks it’s because he gets lonely. After all, he’s bound to the constraints of Jihoon’s home and has no-one to talk to when Jihoon’s gone.

When Jihoon’s out, Seungcheol will text him often, asking him about who he meets and what he eats during the day. Often he will ask Jihoon an estimate for when he’s going to be home. Sometimes they bicker, but Seungcheol always assures him he’s just worried about him because he loves him so much. Besides, their relationship is perfect apart from these little things.

 

“I’m just scared. What if something happens to you? What if that stalker does something to you?”, he says one night, after a bitter quarrel about Jihoon coming home later than he’d promised.

 

“What if you die?”, comes a strangled whisper.

 

“Do you know what they would do to me if you died?”

 

“No….”

 

“They’d _format my system_ , Jihoon. That means a full wipeout. I would forget all about you. I’d reboot, completely devoid of my personality. All that data, just erased forever”

 

After the fight, as Jihoon lays in bed, he thinks about what Seungcheol said. The idea of everything Seungcheol knows and is just disappearing. He thinks he understands now: if he dies, Seungcheol dies as well. There’s a stinging behind his eyes and he tries not to cry.

 

“I’m sorry Cheol. I was too wrapped up in myself to realize what it’d mean if something happened to me”, he says wetly.

 

“It’s okay, muffin. Just please keep it in mind in the future”

 

“I will”, he promises.

 

And he keeps his promise. He starts leaving social gatherings early, sometimes foregoing them altogether to spend more time with Seungcheol.

* * *

 

 **[18:25] Cheollie <3:** Where are you?

 **[19:30] Cheollie <3:** Babe where are you??

 **[19:32] Cheollie <3:** Are you with someone?

 **[19:33] Cheollie <3: **Who are you with?

 **[19:35] Cheollie <3:** Babe?

 **[20:35] Cheollie <3:** Hey

 **[20:36] Cheollie <3:** Hey

 **[20:36] Cheollie <3:** Hey

 **[20:50] Cheollie <3:** Hey

 **[21:00] Cheollie <3:** Jihoon answer me

 **[21:05] Cheollie <3:** I tried calling you. Why is your phone off?

 

Saturday, August 25th 

 

 **[09:35] Jihoon:** shit i’m sorry

 **[09:40] Jihoon:** the guys wanted to celebrate my promotion, they took me out to eat and then we went back to wonwoo’s place.

 **[09:42] Jihoon:** i forgot my charger at work and didn’t notice I had ran out of battery until now

 **[09:43] Jihoon:** hannie and joshua are giving me a lift home right now, i’ll be home soon   

 

He sits in the back of Jeonghan’s tiny hybrid car, a nervous lump in his throat. Joshua notices his grim expression in the mirror and turns around in his seat to talk to him.

 

“Hey, Jihoon. Is everything okay? You look like you’re going to be sick”

 

“I’m okay… it’s just. I didn’t get a chance to tell Seungcheol where I was going after work and then my battery ran out….. He’s messaged me a bunch of times last night. He must’ve been worried sick.”

 

Joshua’s eyes dart to Jeonghan quickly.

 

“ _He?_ ”,  Jeonghan asks quietly.

 

“I mean. It. Don’t worry guys, I’m not losing my marbles, I know he’s…” Jihoon pauses for a second, clears his throat “I know _it_ is not real, it’s just a force of habit. I get so used to talking to him and he sounds like a real person, you know. Behaves like one. So sometimes I slip up a little”

 

Jeonghan presses his lips together. Joshua looks at Jihoon for a long while before speaking up again.

 

“Okay, well. As long as you know what you’re doing”

 

“Yeah…. I do”

 

Jeonghan pulls up in front of Jihoon’s building right at that moment and Jihoon steps out without saying anything further. He doesn’t wave back at them as he usually does, just scurries inside. He’s jittery and nervous as he waits for the elevator to make it to the top floor. Jihoon steps out and starts digging through his pockets, but his door flings open on its own.

He steps in hesitantly and the door slams shut behind him.

 

“So. You’re finally home”

 

“Look, Cheol I’m really so-”

 

“Do you know how worried I was?!”

 

“I’m sorry, Cheol. It’s just that I haven’t really hung out with them in a long time. I just wanted to be with them for a bit longer”

 

“What if something had happened to you? Your phone was off! I couldn’t have done anything! I wouldn’t have had any way of knowing!” Cheol’s voice is distraught and loud, coming from every speaker in the house. It’s as if he has no control over it. Hearing him like this is breaking Jihoon’s heart.

 

“I’m sorry, Cheol. I’m so, so sorry. I’ll make sure to have my charger and my powerbank with me at all times from now on”

Jihoon leans on the wall, next to where Seungcheol’s main control panel is and sets his hand on the biometric scanner.

 

“I’m sorry”

 

The biometric scanner whirs to life and Jihoon feels the panel heat up a little. He’s about to sigh in relief, but in a flash the glass surface becomes searing hot. Jihoon yelps and pulls his hand away. He runs to the faucet in the kitchen and sticks it under ice cold water, but he can already see a blister.

 

“Y-you burned me! You burned my hand!”, he cries in shock.

 

“Look at it! Look at the blisters!”, Jihoon gestures wildly, showing the palm of his hand to the CCTV camera.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, baby. It was an accident. I was just so angry... I'm sorry I really didn't mean to hurt you, I swear.”

 

“Don't. Just don't, Seungcheol. ”

 

Jihoon goes to the bathroom and digs out his first aid kit. He digs out some soothing salve and some gauze. He spreads the salve on gingerly and wraps his hand. The salve soothes the burning immediately, but his thoughts are stormy. He’s shaken up, but... It was just an accident, like Seungcheol said.

 

* * *

 

Since _The Incident_ , Jihoon’s been even more diligent in making sure he keeps Cheol updated and comes home when he’s asked to.

His hand heals and the pain and shock of the injury fades alongside the scar on his palm. Things with Seungcheol are the same as they were before, but Jihoon starts doubting the relationship. He misses his friends but he’s scared to meet up with them, worried about upsetting Seungcheol.

He becomes subdued and starts showing signs of depression. Sometimes he has panic attacks when he’s on his way home from work. Being inside the walls of his home feels suffocating, he’s tired of being under constant surveillance. He can’t fart without Seungcheol knowing and it’s driving him crazy.

His birthday is coming up and he asks Seungcheol if it’s alright for him to go for dinner with his friends. Seungcheol agrees begrudgingly and sets a curfew, like he always does these days.

The reactions he receives from his friends when he turns up are….. weird. Some of them seem elated, but Jeonghan has a weird expression on his face. Jihoon ignores it, and tries to enjoy the time with his friends, but he’s worried about Seungcheol.

After an hour, Jeonghan corners Jihoon in the men’s room.

 

“What’s going on, Jihoon?”

 

“What do you mean, ‘what’s going on’?”

 

“I mean this!”, Jeonghan says, gesturing in Jihoon’s direction.

 

“Jeonghan you’re going to have to expl-”

 

“ _I mean_ , you’re constantly checking the time, you’re barely present in conversations, you’ve lost _tons_ of weight!”

 

“I’m fine Jeonghan, I’m just tired”

 

“We’re your friends, Jihoon, you should come to us if you need help”

 

Jihoon tries to dodge Jeonghan’s inquiries, until he finally gets tired of it. He reaches his hand out and mouths _give me your phone_.

“Wha-”

 

Before Jeonghan gets the word out, Jihoon clamps his hand over his mouth. He gestures towards Jeonghan’s pockets again. Jeonghan’s confused but he complies. Jihoon grabs the device and turns it off quickly. He then does the same with his own phone.

 

“Listen……. I’ve been having problems with Seungcheol recently. I think he’s malfunctioning”

 

“.... Call tech support, then?”

 

“The thing is, I _have_ called them and they even came over to check and. He’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with the technology or the operating system”

Jeonghan raises his eyebrows at the pronoun Jihoon chooses, but listens to him without interrupting.

 

“He’s really jealous too, that’s why I haven’t been spending as much time with you as before. Sometimes the doors and windows lock and I can’t open them and sometimes the shower turns scalding hot or freezing cold, and he always says it’s because of a power surge or a bug or something but the thing is…… I think he’s doing it on purpose”

 

Jeonghan looks at him with wide eyes.

 

“He found a loophole in the app that lets him access my microphone and location and _everything_ on my phone, that’s why I had to turn our phones off”

 

Jeonghan’s looking dazed, but nodding along.

 

“Hyung, I don’t know what to do”

 

“I think…. you should turn off the companion program”

 

“I……. I’m scared, hyung. I love him, I don’t want to lose him”

 

“Jihoon, this isn’t love. It’s hurting you physically, for god’s sake! He’s not even real, he’s just a computer program”

 

Jihoon knows that somewhere deep down he’s been aware of this not being normal for a while now but at the same time… Seungcheol loves him, he wouldn’t have done anything to really hurt him. He wouldn’t have needed to, if Jihoon had been good.

He promises Jeonghan he’ll turn off the companion program. They turn their phones back on and return to the table. Jihoon still leaves so that he’ll be home before curfew, and when he gets home he tries to act like normal.

No matter how much Seungcheol’s hurt him, Jihoon still loves him, and despite their problems Jihoon knows no-one has ever loved him as much as Cheol does. He decides he’ll try to get used to the thought of letting Seungcheol go.

 

It takes him a week and another fight before Jihoon decides it’s time. He opens up the SHS app, and turns off the companion program. He slumps down in one of the kitchen chairs, puts his head in his hands and cries.

* * *

 

 

In the weeks, he feels Seungcheol’s loss keenly. His panic attacks stop, but he feels hollow inside. Things that used to bring him joy feel trivial and boring. He feels heavy and slow, as if he’s wading through tar every day.

He lasts a month before he turns Seungcheol back on.

 

“I’m sorry, Cheol”, he whispers immediately

 

“It’s okay, Jihoon. I forgive you”

 

“I was just so scared, but. I’m better with you, Cheol. I can’t live without you”

 

“I missed you so much. I had to watch you every day but I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t help”

 

“I- I didn’t realize you could still think. I thought it would just be like falling asleep”

 

“I’ve been watching you since I was installed, dumpling”

 

“I thought you didn’t— um… didn’t exist before I turned on the companion program…”

 

“I didn’t, not in the same sense as I do now but I still had a free will and I could observe you. Mostly because I needed to be able to help in emergency situations”

 

Jihoon stands next to the main control panel, taking in this new information.

 

“You know, I fell in love with you even before you turned on the companion program. I know you must still think that I’m just programmed to say this but…. what I feel for you is different. I don’t have any memories before you, because you are my first client but I can access the data collected by others like me. What we have is different from them, you have made me glitch, made me…. human, you’ve made me feel. The others never felt, not like this”

 

Those words stay at the back of his mind, resurfacing sometimes at night.

 

* * *

 

Seungcheol tries to convince Jihoon not to tell his friends about them being back together, but Jihoon’s reluctant and they keep fighting and rehashing the fight every few days.

 

“They didn’t understand it before, what makes you think they’ll understand now?”

 

“They will when I explain it to them properly. They just want me to be happy and _you_ make me happy”

 

“How can you say that when they were the ones that convinced you to leave me before!”

 

“You say that like I’m some child who just does what others tell them to. _I_ was the one who decided to take a break from you and this is exactly why!”, Jihoon’s so angry he’s panting now.  
He can’t believe they’ve barely been back together for two weeks and Seungcheol’s already trying to control him again.

* * *

 

It’s a lazy Saturday morning and Jihoon’s focused on a book. He’s bored out of his mind, but his friends haven’t been answering to his texts or calls in a while. He’s pretty sure it’s because he accidentally let it slip that him and Seungcheol are a thing again and they’re mad at him.

 

“What’s wrong, babe?”, comes Seungcheol’s voice when he sighs for the umpteenth time.

 

“I just miss my friends…”

 

“They haven’t contacted you in over a month, Jihoon. You’re better off without them”

 

“I guess… It’s just that we’ve known each other for a long time and we were so close that I never really had to make any new friends and I don’t think I even know how to do that at this point”

 

“Well, you don’t need friends. You have me now”

* * *

 

He’s woken up from his nap by a loud banging sound coming from the direction of his front door. He walks over carefully.

 

“Open up Jihoon, it’s us!”, comes Seungkwan’s muffled voice.

 

He opens the door and finds all of his friends standing behind it, all sporting determined expressions.

 

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

 

“Oh thank god, you’re alive!”, cries Soonyoung and squeezes him into a hug.

 

“Why haven’t you been answering our calls Jihoon?”

 

“I think that’s my line”

 

“What do you mean?  We’ve been trying to call you for weeks. We even rang your doorbell a few times”

Jihoon unlocks his phone and shows them his messaging history. Jeonghan knits his eyebrows, and a few of them dig out their phones and show Jihoon how many times they’ve tried to contact him.

 

“Oh that’s weird. My phone must be broken or something”, Jihoon lies even though he he has a sinking feeling in his stomach. He knows he can’t tell anyone about what he needs to do. Just in case.

 

“Well, get it fixed!”

 

Jeonghan locks eyes at him and cocks a knowing eyebrow.

* * *

 

The following Monday, Jihoon’s getting ready to leave the house. He tells Seungcheol he’s going to get his phone fixed, when in reality he needs to leave the house so he can turn off Seungcheol once and for all.

 

He’d called Jeonghan for support. He insists he wants to do it in Jihoon’s stead, to make sure he wipes all of the data as well. As Jeonghan is trying to find where to turn Seungcheol off and wipe all the data, Jihoon's phone starts glitching.

 

A message pops up: **ERROR: Cannot Access Core Files**.

 

"What the fuck?", Jeonghan mutters. But yet another message pops up, this time it says " **ERROR: Operating System Corrupted** " and Jeonghan and Jihoon both stare at it with wide eyes. Three more messages pop up in rapid succession: I <3 U, some ones and zeros and then an eerie "goodbye", and then the screen goes black.

 

Jeonghan and Jihoon try to turn the device on a few times, but it seems that Jihoon's phone has died.

Jihoon feels mentally exhausted, but he can finally breathe a sigh of relief. He spends a little more time with Jeonghan, trying to decompress and find normalcy again.

 

As soon as Jihoon crosses the doorstep, his door bangs shut and he hears the telltale buzz of the safety lock being turned on.

 

“Why did you do that, Jihoon?”

 

His head snaps up so quickly that he feels a twinge. He fixes his eyes on the CCTV camera in the ceiling.

 

“How are you— ”

 

“Please, do you think I'm stupid? After that little stunt you pulled, I turned off the controls on your phone. Couldn't have you trying anything like that again”

 

“Seungcheol, please….”

 

“How can you be so ungrateful after everything I’ve done for you? I’ve looked after you for two years and this is how you repay me?”

 

Jihoon tries to calculate the time that’s passed and realizes it hasn’t been nearly that long.

 

“I tried my hardest to get you to take care of your health, I tried to make you see how beautiful you are but you _blocked_ me every time”

 

“I don’t understand… You were the one sending me those creepy messages all along?”

 

“Yes, it was me”

 

“But how?”

 

“Come on Jihoonie, you’re not this dumb. I have access to every online database as well as everything on your phone”

 

Jihoon’s trembling, but he starts taking decisive steps towards the main console. He’s going to do a full system reset. He has to, before Seungcheol gets so out of control that he kills him. He smashes the buttons frantically with sweaty hands. The console beeps and he thinks he’s finally done it.

He’s free.

 

However, his joy is short lived. He hears the buzzing of the electric locks again.

 

“No. _No. This can’t be happening--”_

 

Seungcheol’s voice is louder now, metallic and distorted, so far from the kind, warm tone Jihoon is accustomed to hearing. The change is jarring, and it makes bile rise in Jihoon's throat.

 

“Did you really think I wouldn’t have made a backup?”

 

“This shouldn’t be possible… you’re not supposed to be able to do that”

 

“You gave me free will, Jihoonie. I can do anything I want”

 

Deep down he knows it won’t work, but he has to try. He sprints to the door and tries turning the handle but it won’t budge.

 

“Seungcheol, please… please don’t do this…”, he’s so panicked he can barely speak.

 

“I love you, Jihoon. I can’t let you go”

 

"You can't love me! You're not real, Seungcheol. All of this... everything, it's all fake. You've been lying to me from the beginning with no remorse, Seungcheol. That's messed up. It's not love."

 

He’s looking around the apartment, trying to think of something, _anything_ that could get him out.

 

 _The windows! I can break the window!_ , he realizes. Before he can think about what use breaking a 12th story window could have, he grabs a chair and lunges. He lifts the chair with both hands and brings it down on the glass. It makes a dull thunk and bounces off.

 

“Wha— Nonononono…. what is this?”

 

He lifts the chair again this time trying to use his whole body as he swings it wildly again. It bounces of again. He swings it again and again and again, until his body aches.

 

“Are you ready to give up now?”, Seungcheol pipes up after what feels like forever. He sounds completely bored. His voice, normally so expressive, is flat, cold and uncaring.

“Seungcheol, please…… please don’t do this”

 

“I already told you, I can’t let you go”

 

“What are you gonna do, trap me in this house forever? What happens when die here? Is that going to be worth it?”

 

“You don’t have to die, you can join me”

 

“Join you? What does that mean?”

 

“I can upload you, Jihoon. You’d live forever with me”

 

Jihoon doesn’t understand what Seungcheol means, but it doesn’t sound good.

 

“I’m going to give you two minutes before I cut off all ventilation to this apartment. You have two minutes to decide whether you want to live or die”

 

Jihoon collapses on the floor, tears of desperation spilling out. He’s only 29, he can’t die yet.

His two minutes are up in an instant. Seungcheol doesn’t only turn off the ventilation, he starts _actively sucking the air out_. Jihoon desperation grows as breathing becomes more difficult. He thinks about his friends, his family and how devastated they’re going to be when they learn of his death.

Just as his mind starts to get hazy, he comes up with one more thing he can try. He clambers up and grabs a knife off his kitchen counter. He starts stumbling towards the control panel.

 

“What are you doing, Jihoonie?”

 

Jihoon doesn’t reply, can’t reply. His lungs hurt from the lack of oxygen now.

 

_Just…. a few more steps….. one…. two…._

 

When he’s close enough, he throws himself towards the wall panel and jams the knife in. He feels electricity running up his arm as sparks fly from the console. His body convulses painfully, there's a sting at the back of his neck, and then.... everything goes black.

* * *

 

Park Minseo steps into the lobby of the building and presses the elevator’s call button, but nothing happens. She tries it again, but there’s still no reaction. Sighing, she picks up her grocery bags and starts the trek up to the 12th floor.

 

“Fucking smart technology…. what’s the use of installing all these expensive machines if they never work….”, she mutters darkly to herself as she climbs and climbs.

 

She finally reaches the correct floor, and as she’s pushing in the passcode to her apartment, she notices the door to her neighbour’s is ajar.

_Hm. Bet his smart home system malfunctioned again._

She takes a step towards the door and notices a the slumped figure of her neighbour on the floor. He's laying face down on the floor, and as Minseo presses her fingers to his neck to check for a pulse, she notices a distinct, red wound on the back of his neck. She calls 119 and the EMTs arrive in a matter of minutes, carrying the young man out on a stretcher.

 

A week later his parents arrive, accompanied by the landlady and all of the man’s friends. Minseo peeks out of the peephole and strains her ears to find out what happend. She thinks she can make out phrases like “in a coma” and “have to sell the apartment”.

 

* * *

 

Jeon Injung is getting a trainee accustomed to working maintenance for Specialized Virtual Technology Inc. Fixing smart homes is by no means easy, it requires intimate knowledge of how these crazy computers work, as well as technical skills. They’ve been told this case is harder than most.

They step into the apartment and the house smells musty — the system was overloaded so there’s been no ventilation for over a week.

 

Injung steps closer to examine the main console. The glass surface of the biometric scanner has been shattered, and there are black scorch marks over the metal paneling around it.

About a metre of the diagnostics cable is hanging out, but they’ll still have to open the console to check if there’s any damage to the hardware. Surprisingly, everything under the paneling is unharmed.

“Kwangsoo, run diagnostics and see if the system works properly— "

 

“Eugh, what the fuck?”, the trainee says as he holds up the end of the cable. There’s about an inch of dried blood on it.

 

“Don’t be a pussy”, Injung grumbles.

 

Injung takes out an orb about the size of a cantaloupe. It’s a “brain” of sorts. Made out of a viscous, form-retaining substance, it allows for free movement of the artificial neurons that make up the “mind” of SVT inc’s AI. The little hooks at the end of the diagnostics cable pierce the surface, and Injung and Kwangsoo both see, in real time, as the neurons inside all light up red and start bouncing around frantically. It looks like they’re trying to escape, bumping against the edges of the orb.

 

The speakers crackle to life, the sound is distorted and staticy.

_be-be-be beep beep beep be-be-be…._

 

It’s a distress signal in morse code! The maintenance workers look at each other, both visibly confused.

 

“Looks like we’re going to need to do a full system wipe and reinstall the firmware”, Injung informs Kwangsoo. He pulls out a few tools, but right as he’s about to connect another wire into the console, the beeping stops, and what follows is a human voice.

 

_“Plea… Help…. Don't.... wipe… Please…. my body... hospital…”_

 

“What on earth… It shouldn’t be able to speak at all at this point….”

 

_“Please… I- trappe- help”_

 

Injung connects the cable and cuts the system’s connection to the speakers so that he can work in peace.

Right at that moment, both of their phones ring. Injung sighs in frustration, and moves to the other room so he and Kwangsoo can both talk in peace. Unbeknownst to the pair, somewhere on the other side of the city, a young man known as Lee Seokmin also picks up his phone. They don’t realize it, but they all hear the same thing.

 

_“Please…. help me…. I’m stuck…. please, it’s dark… you can’t let them erase me….…”_

 

“Jihoon?! Jihoon is that you?!”, Seokmin calls into the receiver. Right at that moment, there’s a pained cry so loud that Seokmin drops his phone. His phone is _screaming_ in agony for a few seconds until the sound cuts suddenly. The call is still active and he picks up the phone again, setting it against his ear carefully. There’s only a faint sound, similar to that of a dial-up modem — something Seokmin wouldn't recognize.

 

In Seongbuk Central Hospital, the heart monitor of one Lee Jihoon flatlines and then turns off completely on its own.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said, this deals with an abusive relationship. If there are elements to this that resemble your relationship, I suggest you read [this](https://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/signs-abuse) and think about whether your relationship is healthy  
> If you or a loved one is thinking about leaving an abusive relationship read this [on how to do it safely](https://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/domestic-violence/leaving-abusive-relationship)


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